The invention provides a method for controlling devices within a communications network, and a system for controlling a communications network in a motor vehicle that implements the method.
The use of communications networks in motor vehicles is already known. These communications networks serve to connect controllable devices and sensors. The controllable devices in particular include infotainment devices, such as a car radio, navigation devices, and audio media player devices, without limitation.
One technology proposed for communications networks in motor vehicles is a serial bus system for operation in accordance with the IEEE 1394 standard. For such serial bus system operation, terminal devices are connected to one another by means of a 4 to 6-wire cable or by means of an optical waveguide. End pieces contained in the bus are referred to as leaves, relay nodes are referred to as branches, and the uppermost node is finally referred to as a root. This bus system is self-configuring, i.e., all nodes in the bus system send data via themselves to the other nodes. The bus management can be transferred to one or more nodes. When there are several nodes that are provided for the bus management, a competition is occurs and the winner of this competition takes over the bus management. An operating software runs on the individual nodes, which communicate with and cooperate with each other to operate the bus-attached devices as a communications network.